12
e-Newsletter
19/17
2 June 2017
POLICY AND LEGISLATION
Property Valuation Regulations: Current use...whatever happened to sustainable use?     

South Africa's Valuer-General, an office created by the Property Valuation Act, will receive public comments up until 21 June regarding its proposed methodology to calculate the value of land identified for land reform. The Act mandates the Valuer-General to value land not according to market value, but according to the 'just and equitable' methodology used in section 25 (3) of the constitution to calculate compensation upon expropriation.  Theo Boshoff, Agbiz manager: Legal intelligence provides more information in the linked article»
ECONOMIC AND AGRIBUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
SA agriculture saw notable job cuts in Q1, 2017

South Africa's agricultural sector saw 44 000 job cuts in the first quarter of this year from the last quarter of 2016. Notable job losses were on crops and horticulture, game farming, as well as livestock. In part, this can be explained by job losses in the poultry sector, as well as reduced activity in the horticulture industry. Taking a look at the provincial decomposition, it is clear that most job losses occurred in the Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces where the bulk of labour intensive crops were still showing the aftermath of the 2016 drought.  Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz economist provides more information in the linked update»
South Africa set to harvest the biggest maize crop on record

After the CEC revised its maize production forecast to 14.54 million tonnes in April, it has further lifted its forecast to 15.63 million tonnes - making this season's crop the largest on record. This means that exportable maize surplus could at least reach 3.00 million tonnes (52% white maize and 48% yellow maize).  Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz economist provides more information in the   linked update»  
Daily view on commodity markets

Daily commentaries on agricultural commodity markets and macro-economic trends are available on the Agbiz website  www.agbiz.co.za
INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT
Global Exporter Passport Programme (GEPP) 

Trade The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) has invited both existing and potential exporters to apply for an Global Exporter Passport Programme (GEPP). The purpose of the training is to prepare small and medium enterprises for the successful expansion of their businesses into international markets.  Interested companies are required to complete and submit the export-readiness assessment form , which will help determine the appropriate level of training for each company.   The training is clustered in four phases, namely:
Phase 1: Introduction to exporting
Phase 2: Planning for exports
Phase 3: Market entry
Phase 4: Global exporting
The actual training is provided over 1-4 days (see dates linked).  Companies must meet a minimum assessment score to be eligible to participate in the training.   More information:  Tshepo Maroga: TMaroga@thedti.gov.za , 012 394 5624
MEMBERS NEWS
BEE Commission Practice Guide

On 22 May, the BEE Commissioner issued  Practice Guide  (see linked).   While this guide is non-binding and non-legislated, the potential impact for companies may be great. Potentially, certificates issued under the old codes between May 2016 and August 2016 may not be valid. This has a direct impact on a procurement score.  For more information, contact Melcus Nel at Signa on 0861124668. 

Water is intrinsic to economic growth and prosperity and crucial for wine grape producers to grow their vineyards, continue operations and prepare their products. The current drought and predicted long-term drying trends in the Western Cape have serious implications for the wine industry. But despite the drought, the 2017 harvest resulted in a 1.4% bigger crop than the previous year, with healthy grapes, intense flavours and colours holding the promise of great wines - Read more»  

Pieter Smit, the top achiever of the North-West University's (NWU's) School for Business and Governance received the ABSA gold medal as best MBA achiever.This is the first time that ABSA is sponsoring this award, which includes a nine carat gold medal, a certificate, as well as a floating trophy and a cash amount.  During Smit's speech at the MBA awards ceremony, he said that the masters of our future are nobody else but ourselves, and that it is each person's responsibility to play a role in the improvement of our society and country - Read more»

Andries Radley, a former recipient of the Agbiz Centenary  Bursary, received his PhD degree  at the University of Pretoria's recent graduation ceremony.   The title of his thesis is: Sustainable profitability and growth of South African agribusinesses. Radley will present on his thesis topic  at the IFAMA World Conference in Miami, Florida this month.  
Picture: Andries Radley presents a copy of his PhD thesis to Dr John Purchase, Agbiz CEO.
SECTOR NEWS
Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation tables report to Parliament

The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation tabled its Portfolio Committee Report in Parliament this past week. Please click on report to peruse. 
Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries tables report to Parliament

The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries tabled its Strategic Plan, 2017/18 Annual Performance Plan and the Budget of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Vote 24) and its Entities to Parliament. Please click on report to peruse. 

In a monthly newsletter, MASDT provides the first-hand account of operations and challenges associated with specific farming projects.  This month's focus is  on Magolide Poultry Farming - Read more»

By transferring modern technologies and skills to the younger generations, it is possible to help develop the agricultural sector, enabling best practices to be adopted by future generations and improving productivity, food security and poverty along the way, says  Howard Blight, CEO and Co-founder of Agricolleges International.  One of the areas that offers particularly exciting opportunities is Africa's mobile phone revolution and the growing access to the internet. E-learning is a relatively new concept in Africa and a new business in this field, AGRICOLLEGES international, plans to take it to the next level - Read more»
UPCOMING EVENTS
IFAMA 2017 World Conference
18-21 June 2017 | Miami, Florida, USA
More information

Avi Africa 2017 Conference, Congress & Exhibition 
20-22 June 2017 | Emperors Palace | Johannesburg
More information

Workshop on Bioinformatics and Wheat Genomics
28 June 2017 | Worcester, Western Cape
More information

11th Agribusiness Africa Conference
4-5 July 2017 |  Emperors Palace | Johannesburg

ExtruAfrica 2017
1-4 August 2017
Agbiz Grain Mini-Symposium
15 August 2017 |  CSIR, Pretoria
Enquiries: mariana.purnell@agbizgrain.co.za 

PMA Fresh Connections Southern Africa Conference and Trade Show
16-17 August 2017 |  CTICC | Cape Town

Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition Symposium
23 August 2017 | CSIR, Pretoria
Enquiries: candice@fertasa.co.za

Skills Development Summit
31 Aug - 1 September 2017 | CSIR | Pretoria
More information

South African Association for Food Science & Technology (SAAFoST) 22nd Biennial International Congress and Exhibition 
3-6 September 2017 | Century City Convention Centre | Cape Town

SA Innovation Summit
6-8 September 2017 | Cape Town

13th African Dairy Conference and Exhibition
12-14 September 2017 | Premier Hotel OR Tambo
Contact:  Julie McLachlan on  julie@mpo.co.za

MPO National Congress
20 September 2017 | Protea Hotel King George | George
Contact:  Julie McLachlan on julie@mpo.co.za

Potatoes SA Congress
28 September 2017 | Premier Hotel OR Tambo | Johannesburg

International Conference on Global Food Security 
3-6 December 2017 | CTICC | Cape Town
Conference Theme: Food Security: Global challenges, local solutions
More information
SOCIAL MEDIA
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